Drosera Obscura is a large-scale multisensory XR performance project that integrates animatronics, real-time virtual environments, spatial audio, haptics, scent, and live vocal performance into a unified speculative ecology. Developed through collaborative workshopping and performances in the ICAT Cube during Fall 2025, the project advances toward a transnational, multi-site presentation planned for Fall 2026. The semester focused on testing fully integrated systems within an immersive performance environment, refining workflows that link Maya-driven animatronic control, VR puppeteering, Unreal Engine interactions, spatial sound, and embodied participation.
The project brought together faculty, students, visiting artists, and international collaborators to explore the relationship between human performers and responsive robotic forms within a posthuman cranberry bog narrative. Visiting artists contributed to sound design, narrative structure, and system refinement, while students led major advances in animatronic form, mobility, sensing, and software pipelines. Parallel to this work, an international expansion was initiated through a Fulbright Specialist residency in Ireland, establishing long-term partnerships and on-site prototyping that support a synchronized three-country performance between Galway, Blacksburg, and Seattle. Collectively, Drosera Obscura positions XR not as a standalone medium, but as a performative ecosystem where sound, movement, scent, and robotics operate together in a live, networked experience.

Artists and Collaborators
Faculty and Directors
Thomas Tucker (Project Director, Virginia Tech/US)
Dongsoo Choi (Hardware and Systems, Virginia Tech/US)
Ariana Wyatt (Vocal Performance and Direction, Virginia Tech/US)
Brook Kennedy (Industrial Design, Virginia Tech/US)
University Research Partners
Marcelo Wanderley (Spatial Audio, McGill University/Canada)
Suresh Krishna (Perceptual Neuroscience, McGill University/Canada)

Visiting Artists and External Collaborators
Tohm Judson (Sound and Narrative Design, University of Washington/US)
Matthew Swarts (Interactive Systems and Sensors, Georgia Tech/US)
Yamin Xu (Technical Collaboration, Bowling Green State University/US)

Student Artists and Developers
Jason Hodge (Software and Systems Integration, Virginia Tech/US)
Matt Finn (Mechanical Design and Mobility Systems, Virginia Tech/US)
Sydney Dechow (Animatronic Form and Ergonomics, Virginia Tech/US)

Vocalists and Puppeteers
Che Botsford (US)
Kaeli Berry (US)
Ellie Dunn (US)
Anishka Kolli (US)
Evangeline Menendez (US)
Mary Stanford Austin (US)